American Airlines (AA) parent AMR Corp., which is restructuring via the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process (ATW Daily News, March 29), incurred a $1.66 billion net loss in the first quarter, according to a filing Thursday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The loss was widened from a $436 million net deficit in the 2011 March quarter. The results include $1.4 billion in reorganization items. First-quarter revenue increased 9.1% year-over-year to $6.04 billion while expenses rose 6.3% to $6.13 billion. AA’s aircraft fuel costs heightened 17.5% to $2.17 billion.

Operating loss was $89 million, narrowed from a $232 million operating deficit in the prior-year quarter.

American Airlines (AA) chairman and CEO Tom Horton told company employees in a Tuesday letter that “it now makes sense” to evaluate potential merger opportunities.

The carrier, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since last November, recently reached a tentative agreement with leaders of the Allied Pilots Assn. (APA) union on a concessionary labor pact with the airline’s flight deck crew (ATW Daily News, June 28). Horton told AA workers that the agreement with the pilots is likely “an important turning point” that has helped create “new momentum” in AA’s bankruptcy restructuring, leading the company’s board to move forward, in conjunction with the airline’s creditors’ committee, with an evaluation of possible combinations, including with US Airways (ATW Daily News, April 23).

Horton, who has maintained throughout the Chapter 11 process that emerging as a standalone entity is AA’s best option, noted in the letter that “for many years I have publicly been a proponent of consolidation as one path to a healthier US airline industry … We have assessed many possible combinations in the past, including, of course, an acquisition of US Airways.”

Horton said AA is now in position “to carefully and objectively evaluate a range of strategic alternatives available.” He cautioned, “You will undoubtedly hear plenty of rumors and speculation as our work continues. This exploratory process will take time but the objective is clear. Our obligation is to achieve the very best outcome for the financial and other stakeholders of American and that is what we will do.”

US Airways said in a statement, “All we have asked for is a fair and balanced opportunity to present our plan versus others, and we are hopeful this is the beginning of such a process.”

APA added, “Mr. Horton’s letter represents an important milestone by acknowledging what we have believed for some time—that consolidation involving American Airlines is essential for all of the airline’s stakeholders. It’s an affirmation that consolidation represents the most promising path for our airline’s future. The biggest remaining questions center on who manages the new entity and whether a merger occurs during [AA’s] Chapter 11 restructuring or thereafter.”

The First Class cabin will be outfitted with 10 fully lie-flat seats in a 1-1 configuration, giving every seat direct aisle access – a feature that no other domestic airline offers. Customers can individually adjust any component of the fully lie-flat seat, designed by Sicma, including the seat back, head rest and leg rest. The seats feature a large tray table and work surface and an individual storage unit for stowing personal items. Seat controls have a more intuitive design for optimum customer comfort and simplicity.

The Business Class cabin will be outfitted with 20 fully lie-flat seats, designed by BE, in a 2-2 configuration. In the Main Cabin the seats will be designed by Recaro and arranged in a 3-3 configuration. The option to enjoy more legroom is available with 36 Main Cabin Extra seats and the aircraft also offers 36 Main Cabin seats. More details about the Business Class and Main Cabin seats will be provided at a later date.

To ensure customers traveling from coast to coast have access to the latest in inflight entertainment, American plans to outfit the entire aircraft with seat-to-seat chat, live text news and weather updates, 3-D moving maps, airport maps, connecting gate information, and more.

For customers traveling in the premium class cabins, a complimentary inflight entertainment selection of up to 75 movies, more than 150 TV programs, more than 350 audio selections and up to 15 games will be available on a 15.4-inch HD-capable touchscreen monitor positioned in each seat. Bose® QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headsets will be available.

In the Main Cabin, every seatback will have an 8.9-inch HD-capable touchscreen monitor with an assortment of movies, TV programs, games and audio selections.

American intends to take delivery of these aircraft beginning in November 2013 through 2014. The A321 transcontinental aircraft will replace American's existing fleet of Boeing 767-200s and fly between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and JFK and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Talks between US Airways and AMR over a possible merger involving bankrupt AMR subsidiary American Airlines have reached a formal stage, as the two companies begin to exchange “certain confidential information” under the terms of a nondisclosure agreement signed August 31. The deal calls for both companies to work in good faith in evaluating the possibilities of a combination, marking an apparent softening of AMR’s previous stance against any merger talks before it exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In a statement, the companies said they do not expect to make further announcements on the status of any discussions “unless and until” they either break off negotiations or enter into a transaction. Perhaps more significantly, the two sides agreed not to talk with other parties about their potential merger. That provision, however, does not preclude AMR from entering nondisclosure agreements with other potential suitors. In fact, British Airways parent IAG has signed a similar deal with AMR.

The nondisclosure agreement between AMR and US Airways effectively ends any further talks between US Airways management and the three major employee unions at American Airlines, all of which issued a joint statement several months ago announcing their support for the merger and their approval of the terms that would govern collective bargaining agreements at the merged airline.

But despite US Airways’ estimates that a merger would create at least $1.2 billion in new value for the combined companies, American continued to pursue its own path toward restructuring, delivering concessionary contract offers to all three unions: the Allied Pilots Association (APA), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) and the Transport Workers Union (TWU). By August 8 all seven of the TWU’s groups voted to ratify a tentative offer from AA management, and on August 19 members of the APFA followed suit. Unable to reach terms with its pilots, however, AA management won the right last Tuesday under a New York bankruptcy court ruling to void its existing APA contract, allowing it to impose new conditions unilaterally.

Meanwhile, according to US Airways chairman and CEO Doug Parker, the conditional offers from US Airways provide for only marginal improvements over offers American’s employees have received through the bankruptcy process. Nevertheless, unions representing American Airlines pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and fleet service workers continue to back the US Airways bid.

Some details of a proposed merger between US Airways and Fort Worth-based AMR Corp. have come to light in the wake of last week's approval by American Airlines' pilots of a new contract.

The Wall Street Journal reported that US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LLC) sent a formal proposal to AMR (PK: AAMRQ) last month that suggests an all-stock deal that would give 70 percent ownership of the new company to American's creditors and 30 percent ownership to US Airways shareholders.

Reuters reported that the proposed deal would place a new company's value to that of Delta Air Lines Inc., or about $8.5 billion. The Journal placed the value at roughly $8.3 billion.

In November AMR CEO Tom Horton said that he believed creditors deserved more than a 70 percent share of a new company and the Journal reported that some creditors believe the share should about 80 percent.

Both American Airlines and US Airways have signed non-disclosure agreements in relation to the proposed merger so that each can examine the other's books.

AMR continues to pursue a plan, however, that would have it emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as an independent company.

American Airlines parent AMR Corp is seeking to convert orders for 20 Boeing 787-9s to a smaller variant, restore the timing of the first 787-9 delivery to 2014 and finalise a deal to buy 42 787s overall by the end of the month.

The proposed deals announced today by AMR also seek to finalize a purchase agreement for 100 737-8 Max aircraft, but at reduced prices.

The contractual changes are included in AMR's financial restructuring under bankruptcy protection, a process that allows US companies to renegotiate previously signed contracts under new and more favourable terms.

The new terms must still be approved by the US bankruptcy court for the Southern District in New York during a hearing on 23 January, but could take effect by the end of the month.

American Airlines signed a purchase agreement to buy 42 787-9s with options for 58 more nearly five years ago, but the carrier never finalized the order.

American Airlines now wants to finalise the deal with 20 787-8s and 22 787-9s, while keeping the option to buy 58 more 787s.

In early 2012, American Airlines said that the first 787-9 delivery would be delayed beyond 2014 due to delays in Boeing's production system.

However, the proposed restructuring of the deal accelerates the first 787-9 delivery to November 2014, according to the carrier's filing. Deliveries would then continue through September 2018.

Meanwhile, American Airlines added the option to purchase 60 more 737 Max aircraft, after receiving 100 from 2018 to 2022, the filing says.

Revised, corrected: In addition, American is ordering 100 aircraft from the Boeing 737 MAX family, a more-efficient version scheduled to arrive between 2018 and 2022, and options to buy another 60 for delivery between 2022 and 2025.

American said it and Airbus signed a definitive agreement Friday for American’s purchase of 260 aircraft from the Airbus A320 family.

American previously had disclosed plans to acquire 130 of the current generation of Airbus A320, with the first to arrive in July and the last to be delivered in 2017. It also plans to acquire another 130 from the next-generation Airbus A320neo family, which like the 737 MAX promises better fuel efficiency.